The Mutability of all Earthly Things - Ōtomo no Yakamochi

Since the far natal hour of earth and heaven, 

          Men never cease to cry 

That ne’er to aught in this our world ’twas given 

          To last eternally. 

If upward gazing on the moon of light 

          That hangs in heav’n’s high plain, 

I see her wax, ’twill not be many a night 

          Before that moon shall wane. 

And if in Spring each twig puts forth his flow’r 

          On all the hills around, 

Dew-chilled and storm-swept in dull Autumn’s hour 

          The leaves fall to the ground, 

Such, too, is man : soon pales the ruddy cheek, 

          The raven locks soon fade; 

And the fresh smile of morn ’twere vain to seek 

          Amid the evening shade. 

And I that gaze upon the mortal scene, 

          My tears flow down forever, 

Where all is viewless as the wind unseen, 

          And fleeting as the river. 

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Ōtomo no Yakamochi (718 - 785)  Japan

Translated by Rev. William Elliot Griffis

Source: The Sacred Books And Early Literature Of The East Vol 13 Japan, Charles F. Horne, Parke, Austin and Lipscomb Inc., 1917